Standardization in Cannabis Pesticide Testing: Development of an LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS Method to Meet AOAC Standard Method Performance Requirements

Cannabis falls into a number of categories such as medicine, recreational drug, food source, and fiber, but it is first and foremost an agricultural crop. As such, Cannabis is subject to treatment with pesticides to improve quality and yield, and may also be unintentionally contaminated with pesticides. Regulatory agencies in various US states have enacted rules about pesticide use on Cannabis. These are typically found in states that have legalized high THC Cannabis for medicinal and recreational use, but pesticide regulations have recently been adopted by state hemp regulatory agencies such as the New York Cannabinoid Hemp Program. Other standards organizations have proposed testing limits and requirements for pesticides in Cannabis, such as the AOAC Standard Method Performance Requirements for Identification and Quantitation of Selected Pesticide Residues in Dried Cannabis Materials (AOAC SMPR 2018.011). In this presentation, the validation of an LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS method using a single extraction step for quantitation of 104 pesticides in Cannabis in accordance with AOAC SMPR 2018.011 will be discussed. The method has been developed for high throughput with minimal cleanup steps. Method performance such as recovery, RSD, and LOQ will be discussed, as well as the extraction efficiency of various solvents tested during the method development.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the purpose of AOAC SMPR 2018.011.

2. Describe how pesticides are regulated in cannabis in the United States.